WASHINGTON - Before going onstage in a Wednesday night concert .... The rock star and the president had lunch in the private dining room off the Oval Office. Bono told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview before they dined that he was not intimidated to meet Bush or any other leader.

"I'm representing the poorest and the most vulnerable people. On a spiritual level, I have that with me. I'm throwing a punch, and the fist belongs to people who can't be in the room, whose rage, whose anger, whose hurt I represent." Bono said he is "capable of having a row" if he does not get what he wants. "I'm a big-mouthed Irish rock star."

But the mental illness visited upon hundreds of millions of people because of the Windows Operating System. Now, if the award is for best use of ginormous profits in pursuit of fanatastic corporate PR?

It bugs me that Bono is in between Gates and his wife in the cover photo. Melinda's there as part of a team with Gates, and Bono's there for a separate reason. Clearly, they wanted the most charismatic face in the center, but still... It's annoying.

Melinda should be in front anyway. Everybody knows the hierarchy is pretty girls, cool dudes, and the geeks bring up the rear. Did no one at Time go to high school?

Gates didn't go on this Carnegian kick until after he was married. Perhaps she's the real driving force here. And also -- Ali should be up there for putting up with Bono's shit all these years. The man's been married for over 20 years with that job.... Incredible.

Bob Geldof and Bono, with their "charity work" have caused tremendous damage to the African people.

It is too soon to tell whether the Gates Foundation will do the same. A reading of the Foundation's web site only gives you platitudes on what they are going to do. At this point, I am hoping that Bill Gate's great business mind will help the Foundation avoid the disastrous mistakes of 30 years of UN and NGO aid.

I'm glad I cancelled my Time subscription a week ago, still, I'll have to look at Bono one more time since cancellation works too slow . I'm alone in immensely disliking him, perhaps. No matter, the Publicity-Kofi loving man is the darling of left-wing Media, whether I like it or not. He, along with the Movie, TV and Press industries never tire of giving each other awards. How many award shows, and award dinners can attest to that.What it costs to put on these affairs each year may, indeed, feed Africa for quite some time.

I think it was as petty and small minded as the Nobel Committee. No matter how politically incorrect it is to give Bush even a bank shot at praise, the purple, cedar and orange revolution protest babes were the people of the year. Just go back and check out Instapundit's archives if you don't believe me.

Personally, I don't understand why the Gateses should be made to share the honor with Bono. And while Malkin and others have perfectly valid alternative nominations, the Bill & Melinda Gates are an excellent choice.

The problem is that most rich people don't give away their goodies until they're dead. And then the assets usually are transferred to the heirs, thus perpetuating the problem of undeserved wealth. Most rich people think the're special and immortal. Having a big ego is worse than having a big bank account. That is why we, the people, have to take their millions and billions away from them and put the money to go use. What makes Bill Gates so special that he knows what is best to do with billions of dollars of ill-gotten gains?. I don't trust him or anyone for that matter with that kind of money.

What is this baloney about vaccinating millions of African kids anyway? I'm opposed to mass vaccinations. How about mass sterilization? Poverty is best cured with a surgical procedure on poor people to prevent them from making more poor people. How dumb and immoral to give birth to a child in abject poverty. That must be stopped!

Isn't it the thought that counts? I should be person of the year, too. I often contemplate how I'd give away my vast billions. The only problem is that I don't have such obscene wealth. I also have more immediate concerns like paying for rent and gasoline.

Bill Gates, whether you like him or not, is a revolutionary individual because his efforts have forever changed our society. If the printing press was revolutionary because it reduced the cost of the spread of knowledge, the computer enabled by Gates’s software is immensely more important (think of this blog as one small example).

As for his earned wealth, think about what Adam Smith wrote in “The Wealth of Nations” (1776):

“Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it... By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.”

And the fact that he is using substantial amounts of his accumulated wealth for the good of humanity makes him well deserving of any honors such as Person of the Year.

Geez, is "Undecided" above bitter or what? He (or she) could be the spokesperson for some political orientations we're all familiar with in this country.

If Bill Gates didn't have all that money in his bank accounts who, exactly, would have it? Until Undecided and people like him understand the answer to that question they are destine to be unnecessarily angry and irritatingly irrational.

Irish BrogueEdge, play that note you know! No, not that note you stupid get, the other note you know.

The bass player's wearing the wrong funny little glasses again! Tell him to put on the "moody clerk in the used record store model;" the tortoiseshell Versaces are so 2003. And remind him to stay under the fifth fret.

Does the promoter know I only drink rainwater gathered from French terne metal gutters? If there's Evian in the dressing room again, there's going to be trouble.

When I'm done shrieking into this microphone, the jet better be ready to take me to the Shining Path Sustainable Jungle Airstrip Conclave.